Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

HostPanel ("HostPanel", "we", "us", "our") provides cloud hosting and infrastructure services from data centres in the United Kingdom. For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, HostPanel is the data controller of the personal data described in this policy.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, contact us at privacy@hostpanel.co.uk.

2. The data we collect

We collect only the data we need to provide and improve our services:

• Account data — your name, email address, password (stored hashed), and account preferences, collected when you register.
• Billing data — billing name and address, VAT number where applicable, and payment card details. Card details are processed by our payment processor; we never store full card numbers on our systems.
• Server and service logs — IP addresses, request logs, resource usage metrics, and security event logs generated when you or your visitors use our infrastructure. We use these to operate, secure, and troubleshoot the platform.
• Support data — the contents of support tickets, live chats, and emails you send us, so we can resolve your issues and improve our support.
• Cookies and analytics — we use strictly necessary cookies to keep you signed in and keep the platform secure, and privacy-respecting analytics to understand how our website is used. Non-essential cookies are only set with your consent.

3. Lawful bases for processing

Under UK GDPR we rely on the following lawful bases:

• Contract — most of our processing (account data, billing, service logs, support) is necessary to deliver the hosting services you have signed up for.
• Legal obligation — we retain billing and tax records to comply with UK accounting and tax law.
• Legitimate interests — we process security logs and analytics to protect our platform, prevent abuse, and improve our services. We balance these interests against your rights and freedoms.
• Consent — for non-essential cookies and marketing communications. You can withdraw consent at any time.

4. How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only as long as we need it:

• Account data is kept while your account is active and deleted within 90 days of account closure, except where we must retain it for legal reasons.
• Billing and invoice records are kept for 6 years after the end of the relevant financial year, as required by UK law.
• Server and security logs are retained for up to 12 months, then deleted or anonymised.
• Support ticket history is kept for 24 months after the ticket is closed, so we can reference previous issues you have raised.

5. Where your data lives

HostPanel is a UK company and our primary infrastructure is located in UK data centres. Your account data, billing records, and the data you host with us are stored in the United Kingdom by default. Where a service provider processes data outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA).

6. Who we share data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with service providers who help us run HostPanel, acting under our instructions as data processors:

• Payment processors, to take payments securely.
• Data centre and network providers, to host our infrastructure.
• Email delivery providers, to send service and billing emails.
• Customer support tooling, to manage support tickets.
• Analytics providers, to understand website usage.

Each processor is bound by a data processing agreement that meets UK GDPR requirements. We may also disclose data where required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of HostPanel and our customers.

7. Your data, your servers

Content you upload to servers and services you run on HostPanel is yours. For that content, you are the controller and we act as your processor: we store and transmit it only to provide the service and never access it except where necessary for support (at your request), security, or legal compliance.

8. Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

• Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Have inaccurate data corrected.
• Have your data erased where we no longer need it.
• Restrict or object to certain processing, including any direct marketing.
• Receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent at any time, where consent is our lawful basis.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@hostpanel.co.uk. We respond to all requests within one month.

9. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please contact us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or through the HostPanel dashboard before they take effect. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised.